Redbud is a host to a variety of insects,  but damage is not normally severe. Bark and phloem borers include  three species of Hypothenemus, and Pityophthorus  lautus (2). A seed beetle, Gibbobruchus mimus, breeds  in the seed of redbud.

    Numerous wood borers have been found in redbud. Agrilus  otiosus, three species of Hypothenemus, three species  of Micracis, two species of Microcisella,  Pityophthorus lautus, Ptosima gibbicollis, and Thysanoes  fimbricornis all inhabit portions of the wood of redbud.

    Other insects feed on the leaves of redbud. The redbud leaffolder,  Fascista cercerisella, feeds on leaves which the larvae  web together. The grape leaffolder, Desmia funeralis, an  important pest of grape, also feeds on redbud. The Japanese  weevil, Callirhopalus bifasciatus, and Norape ovina  both consume redbud leaves.

    Other insects feed on redbud by extracting juices from the plant.  The twolined spittlebug, Prosapia bicincta, has been  recorded feeding on redbud. The terrapin scale, Mesolecanium  nigrofasciatum, and San Jose scale, Quadraspidiotus  perniciosus, like most of the other redbud parasites, inhabit  a variety of hosts including redbud. The periodical cicada, Magicicada  septendecim, lays its eggs in more than 70 species of trees  and other plants, including redbud.

    There are three main diseases of redbud: leaf anthracnose, Mycosphaerella  cercidicola, Botryosphaeria canker, and Verticillium wilt  (6). The most serious is the canker Botryosphaeria ribis or  its variety chromogena. The species is mainly a saprobe;  the variety is a parasite. This variety produces stem and twig  lesions and entire groves of redbuds have been killed by this  disease. Verticillium wilt (Verticillium albo-atrum) sometimes  kills redbuds, especially in the Midwestern United States. Redbud  is vulnerable to Texas root rot (Phymatotrichum omnivorum),  but redbud is not commonly grown in its range. A variety of  sap and heart rots also infect eastern redbud.